New Google Reports Compare Paid and Organic Search Results

New Google Reports Compare Paid and Organic Search Results

Do’s

Don’ts

For small businesses that run ads on Google AdWords, it can be difficult to determine how well your ads are doing. Chances are, you’re also using traditional SEO tactics to improve your organic search. Both SEO and paid advertising are critical to improving your company’s page rank; in fact, paid advertising often plays a vital role in improving your company’s organic search results. However, until now there had been no way to see how paid and organic search influence each other.

Big News for Online Marketers

According to Search Engine Land, Google AdWords is now providing businesses with a report that will separate organic and paid search results, giving local marketing experts a clear picture of the performance of their advertising and SEO campaigns. Google’s motives for making this available to marketers are unclear, but it is possible that it is intended to give marketers more reasons to continue their pay-per-click advertising. Paid search advertising happens to be one of Google’s biggest sources of revenue. See our Google guide to learn more about how Google operates and how to use each of Google’s 6 resources.

How to Get Started

Best of all, the data is organized logically, with ad and organic results displayed side-by-side. Even if you aren’t running an AdWords campaign, you can still access the report to measure your organic search results. All you need is an AdWords account and a Webmaster Tools account to get started. Google pulls the organic search data from Webmaster Tools, which, by the way, is an essential tool for anyone who is involved in local internet marketing. It actually shows you whether or not your website is “healthy” and attractive to search engines.

If you haven’t already connected your AdWords and Webmaster Tools accounts, you’ll need to do that in order the see the new reports.

How to Use the Data

As any local marketing expert knows, data is meaningless unless you know how to put it to good use. The separation of organic and paid advertising results will help your company determine where to allocate its resources. Ideally, you’re focusing on both, but depending on your report, you might want to rearrange some of your marketing efforts to one type of search or the other.

Potential Opportunity for Small Businesses

The new reporting will also make it easier for small businesses that haven’t tried AdWords yet. If properly executed, paid search advertising, either with Google or some other online search provider, can be a valuable component of your marketing plan. Because the organic search reporting provides a baseline, you’ll be able to tell how much of an impact your AdWords campaign is having, and how it affects your organic search results.

Chris Marentis

For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL’s Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.

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